Chelsea Pitman: England wing attack announces retirement from international netball | Netball News

England’s Chelsea Pitman has announced her retirement from international netball; The 35-year-old says she wants to resolve her pregnancy issues after sharing her miscarriage experience in 2020; Pitman said she was “grateful, grateful and absolutely honored to call me Rose.”

England’s Chelsea Pitman has announced her retirement from international netball.

The 35-year-old has won 52 caps for the Vitality Roses and featured in England’s first World Cup final in Cape Town earlier this year, where England were beaten 61-45 by Australia.

Pitman says she wants to “dig a little deeper” into pregnancy issues she’s encountered in the past.

“I have made the extremely difficult decision to retire from international netball,” Pitman said. “I never thought I would choose to retire from the international scene, but it’s the right time for me.

“I made no secret that I had tried to become a mother in the past and had problems,” she added.

“I think it’s time to dig a little deeper into why my body let me down on this. I’ll miss it, but you’ll always see me. I love you all.”

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Watch Australia beat England in the Netball World Cup final in South Africa.

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After their defeat in the Netball World Cup final against Australia, the English players collected their silver medals in South Africa.

Pitman was born in Australia and played for the Diamonds in 2011, helping them win the Netball World Cup in Singapore before moving to England in 2017.

She also helped London Pulse reach their first Netball Super League grand final this year, where they were beaten by Loughborough Lightning 57-48.

Pitman said: “I look back at my time as a Rose and all the other opportunities I’ve had to launch myself onto the international stage as a netballer, and it’s been the best time of my life. What an epic journey. What a roller coaster ride and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be called Rose, to say ‘yes, nominate me!’ because if I hadn’t, my life would have been boring, because I made the best friends in the world and I made and created history. We achieved things that people thought were impossible for We.

Vitality Roses head coach Jess Thirlby said it was an “absolute pleasure” to work with Pitman.

“She has not only inspired many people with her on-court talent, netball acumen and competitive spirit, but I also have such admiration and respect for her as a person.

“Chelsea wears her heart on her sleeve and her passion for roses and her commitment to donning the red dress is undeniable. Not only does it mean a lot to her, but we are also richer because of her being a rose.”

Pitman opens up about the agony of miscarriage

In 2021, Pitman spoke with Aerial sports about her miscarriage to raise awareness.

“As an athlete, my body is my job and usually it does what it is told to do (that it is trained to do). But one thing my body has repeatedly failed at is pregnancy. I never thought this would be the case or realize how absolutely devastating each loss is.”

Read the full interview here…